New Delhi: Can Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the single largest party in Karnataka by winning 104 seats, but still fell short of the majority-mark by eight seats.
The party is, however, hoping that it would be able to form the government by convincing the Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S) and other smaller parties to support the BJP.
The only problem for the BJP is that the party is not in favour of offering the post of chief minister to the JD(S).
“The mandate of the people is clearly against the Congress and it is in favour of BJP. We cannot deny this fact. So it a basically a matter of numbers. The game is still on. The BJP is the closest to a simple majority, so the party should get an opportunity to form the government,” said a senior BJP leader in Delhi.
Blaming the Congress of being opportunistic in its effort to reach out to JD(S) to form a government in the state, BJP leaders argue that the party was rejected by the people of the state and it is now trying to form an alliance with the JD(S).
“We will decide the future course of action after talking to the party leadership. The Congress is trying to come to power through back door. Despite being rejected by the people, the Congress is trying to grab power,” B.S. Yeddyurappa, a former chief minister of Karnataka, told reporters in Bengaluru.
Senior leaders of the party believe that as the mandate of Karnataka is in favour of the BJP, the party will not compromise its position in the state.
“The BJP has the largest numbers in the state, we cannot offer the post of chief minister to the JD(S) because the regional party did not get enough seats on its own to claim the post,” the BJP leader added.
A section of the BJP is also sceptical of holding talks with JD(S) because of the bitter experience in 2004 when the two parties had joined hands.
“It will be decided after a detailed discussion within the party whether to approach JD(S) and who should reach out to them in case an alliance can be worked out,” the BJP leader added.